


Sailing Adventures of Stray Kids

by Bundlino



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Animals, Bounty Hunters, Comedy, Drama, Enemies to Lovers, Fantasy, Guns, M/M, Magic, Maps, Mercenaries, Original Character(s), Pirates, Sailing, Sky Pirates, Swordfighting, Swordplay, Swords, Treasure Hunting, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23835880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bundlino/pseuds/Bundlino
Summary: Skillfully trained Calamity Chan has a unique history with a certain resourceful thief.What awaits him and his crew on these sailing adventures?
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	1. Legendary Tales and Bar Fights

**Author's Note:**

> I would just like to warn: There are mentions of snakes and scorpions in this chapter.

Date: _January 15, 2020_  
Location: _Gangwon Desert, Devil's Caverns_  
Population: _Unknown_  
Distance from Port Mansa: _79 hours_

To most, Gangwon Desert is regarded as hell on earth, notorious for its merciless terrain and isolation. Not even the bravest of Raiders dared to risk everything for so little, at least not when bounty hunting of other Pirates or treasure looting through buried cities proved more efficient. Still, hell was no mere title easily given. Taking the barren wastelands so lightly would prove to be an unwise choice. For instance, a single needle off a spiked-armadillo's back contained enough poison to wipe out an entire fleet ten times over. These small yet cowardly beasts burrowed themselves in the myriad of sand dunes, holding strategic advantage over any Pirate under the ever-shifting tides of wind. Or maybe, if one were unlucky enough, it was possible to run into a sixteen-legged, ivory-colored scorpion, infamous for its violet venom that coated edges of an unbreakable outer-shell along with its dancing stingers. Chan knew this.

While spelunking wasn't his greatest hobby nor would he say he knew anything about cave exploration, somehow or another here he was deep within the Devil's Caverns. 

An item of great importance most likely lay hidden to him, lurking in the shadows. The young 22-year old approached the point of no return, delving further into the darkness of the hollow cave. 

Reaching into his pocket, he masterfully lit a small match against the solid-rock wall, transferring the flame to the old-fashioned oil lamp he carried and silently blowing the match out. In his wake, the burning inferno illuminated portions of the interior, revealing icicle-like formations of jagged rock on both the ceiling and floor of the cave. Behind columns of stalagmite rising from the ground, a serene pond shimmered beautifully in emerald green, having the slightest blue tint. Next to it, he could make out the shape of twig, dirt, and tree vines. Definitely the telltale signs of a winged serpent's nest. 

Winged serpents were territorial creatures, being allured to shiny objects. Chan cautiously stepped his way over, listening for any noises. 

The amazing legends of One-Eyed Yang, one of the greatest Pirates to ever live, had reached far and wide among the people. Even toddlers being read bedtime stories knew his name, and they would probably know him for generations to come. Accumulating large amounts of fortune in only the span of ten months, One-Eyed Yang was also the youngest and one of the most brilliant inventors. Unfortunately, his ship — the Drifting Vagabond — crashed while landing on the shore of Gangwon Desert in 2017. The scattered valuables have long since been collected over the years, whether by wandering Buccaneers or hired Mercenaries. To this day, no one has heard of One-Eyed Yang, or if he still lives. 

Either way, all of the Drifting Vagabond's treasure was gone. 

Or so they say. 

Many rumors surround that legendary treasure hunter, and many more about his inventions are often whispered or gossiped about in hearsay. Having been a reserved person, many of his contraptions continue to remain a mystery, forever unconfirmed. However, it did not take a genius to piece one clue together to another. Becoming one of the greatest treasure hunters in history, in only the span of ten months? Chan concluded that a high-tech device was necessary in gathering all that wealth, like some of the speculations claimed. And if his gut feeling was correct, a winged serpent would definitely snatch it up.

As Chan peered into the big nest, adjusting the lighting to hit it just right, lo and behold there indeed was something hidden in there among all the mess. The item was completely made in silver on the outside, with the middle part containing all sorts of letters accompanied by a pointed arrow. In the darkness, he figured the instrument was a compass. On second glance, he noticed the see-through casing on the front surface had been fractured, splitting in two different ways from the middle. Perhaps it was caused by the rough crashing on the outskirts of Gangwon, or maybe it was done by a serpent's constant gnawing. They did like to do that. 

Swiftly, he retracted his dagger that hung loosely from his belt's sheath, cutting the broken compass free of entangling roots and storing it away in his travel backpack while placing the blade back in its place. 

He couldn't believe his theory worked. That job was done. But he still needed to figure out if it was a normal compass or not after careful inspection. Seungmin was waiting for him back on the ship, so together they could analyze it further. 

Taking a step towards the exit, a hissing noise echoed through the cavern, making his shoulders tense and body halt. He suddenly appeared to have stage freight, judging by his inability to move his legs. Snakes had a peculiar sense of hearing, one that sensed vibrations and low frequencies inside its head. To top it off, these things could fly. From the corners of his eyes, he tried to spot any indication of a slithering threat. 

A faint drip of water echoed behind him, plunging into the body of water nearby. He could feel the sweating on his forehead and the beating of his heart pounding loudly. Chan rose the oil lamp above his head, shedding light onto the ceiling in full. The winged serpent had been hovering over him, maneuvering its frame around the stalactites of rock that drooped from the cavern's top.

Chan stilled his breathing, looking directly into the gaze of the beast's yellow eyes. Its pupil slits pierced through him intensely, daring him to make the first move. The brown scales with black patterning gave away that this one was poisonous. The small, dark wings stemming from its back gave away that it was of a faster species. He hadn't been counting on that. And these types of serpents weren't afraid of fire, either. But Chan was a fast runner, and his bombarding thoughts wondered if he could outrun it. There was only one way to find out.

He made a decisive run for the exit, some ways off in all the twists and turns of tunnel. The winged serpent lunged after him.

Date: _January 20, 2020_  
Location: _Port Mansa, Mansa_  
Population: _15,781_  
Distance from Port Mansa: _\---_

Seungmin yawned as their wooden ship was about to dock, the water beneath parting wildly as the Flying Levanter floated down to make landfall. These magic ships were pretty convenient. "It's good to be back on land."

"No kidding," Chan chuckled, "I nearly got bit." He released the large planks, letting them both disembark off. 

The docking area was filled with multiple other ships, firmly anchored and tied down to wooden posts to not let them drift away. The air smelled like salt and the wind blew modestly. Many passengers visibly talked in large groups, probably visiting family and friends. Other people escorted themselves to the main center area of Port Mansa up ahead that connected the bridge to the land. 

Now on the bridge, Seungmin stretched his arms freely, biting back another yawn. "Are we eating dinner later?" 

"Yeah, just have to take care of some things first." Chan took out a large empty bottle, wider than it was long, out from his backpack. Pulling the cork off, he faced the bottle towards his ship, letting the magic do its work. The Flying Levanter glowed purple, caving in on itself in noticeable dents here and there. The sounds of wood shifting and breaking caught notice. Bystanders looked over with their mouths dropped in shock at the ship's sails reclining in on themselves automatically. Soon enough, the boat shrunk down in size dramatically, being sucked inside the bottle with a final squeeze. Chan finished it off by jamming the cork back to seal it off, then returning the bottle back inside his backpack.

Multiple whispers soon flooded the docking area as Seungmin and Chan walked passed them, ignoring the eyes that followed their every movement as they made their way to the Port Mansa entrance. It honestly doesn't affect them like it used to.

_Oh my. Is that Seungmin the Steel?_

_Who are those two?_

_What kind of magic was that?_

_Sweetie, it's rude to point at strangers._

_Those are Pirates. Low-life scumbags._

_Shhhhh, keep your voice down. They can hear you. Why are you trying to pick a fight?_

_Why have I never seen them before around here? Are they new?_

_Woah, is that Seungmin's captain? Chan? It's Calamity Chan! In the flesh!_

_Calamity Chan?_

_That guy has a terrible track record of bringing disaster to all his contractors, doesn't he?_

_An infamous Corsair. Such a pity._

Judging by all the talk, some of these people were obviously just regulars on passenger ships. Or at least, non-Pirates. Normal people. With normal jobs. Chan shrugged off the comments, passing the entrance of Port Mansa finally. Some of those rumors about him were greatly exaggerated anyway. It shouldn't bother him, but he would be lying if he said it didn't sting a bit sometimes. He was a captain, for heaven's sake. There were bigger things that needed taking care of. Like checking up with an old friend. He felt a nudge to his side slowly take him out of his thoughts.

Seungmin eyed him with a smile, whispering, "Those people don't know you or me. Don't let them get to you. What you should worry about is opinions of those that actually know the real you."

Chan's eyes widened at the clarity his friend brought. "Seungmin..." He didn't know what to say, but he was right. Rather than replying anything more, he merely smiled to himself, looking forward at the fun city in front of them: Mansa. 

Mansa is neutral territory, home to both Pirate and non-Pirate. Majority of its citizens benefit off the local tourism. As such, large portions of the town had seen an upward trend in shacks and other wooden shops popping up left and right. There were definitely some places that didn't used to be there the last time they visited, which was probably just a little under a month ago. As they continued walking down the city's center plaza, there was a big building off into the distance. Most likely, it was where they would rest.

But first, he pulled Seungmin into one of the stores named Mansa's Hand-Me-Downs, probably a new thrift shop. Inside and as far as he could see were racks of hung-up clothes with almost no end, and in the back were shelves of customized crafts and other belongings. 

"I'll see if they have any shirts I like," Seungmin said before splitting up.

When Chan reached an aisle of hats, he rummaged through a huge pile of stacked ones, eventually picking out a black one that reminded him of some fashion from old, silent films decades ago. Looking in the oval standing mirror, he couldn't help but stare at his reflection. 

He wore an obnoxiously large and round, brown hat that had a similar matching brown feather sitting at the top. He loved this hat.

On his torso, he wore a brown sleeveless garb with golden lining that reached a little passed his waist. Under the garb was his white poofy shirt, only noticeable from the arms. At the ends he had brown cuffs wrapping around his wrists comfortably with more golden lining. 

His brown trousers fit nicely, leaving little bagginess. 

On his feet were brown leather combat boots, laced together tight. 

Lastly, his belt closed comfortably over the garb and around his waist, highlighting his slim figure. A long dagger sheathed on his left hip and a wavy scimitar on his right hip. 

He took off his brown hat, running a hand through his healthy blond, wavy hair. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked down at the black hat he was contemplating on buying. Somehow, he felt it wouldn't be a perfect fit.

Later, Chan checked them into that big building which was actually a cheap inn they spotted previously. As he stood at the front desk booking a room with two beds, he could feel the overwhelming stares pointed at their direction. And as he waited for the employee to give them the key, because _wow_ that employee was taking forever, he merely cleared his throat during the uncomfortable silence while attempting to ignore everyone. After an hour or so of unpacking and adjusting, he left Seungmin there since he was feeling a bit tired. 

Chan, on the other hand, needed to see what the current buzz was all about. Making his way through some alleys of the squished neighborhoods and local vendors everywhere, he noticed the sun was starting to set already. The mellow orange of sky and stretching of his shadow on ground indicated so.

But before he knew it, he made it to the establishment. The Grand Tavern. 

Just as he pushed open the swinging doors at the front, an employee greeted him, holding a menu. The place was almost full, and he could hear the warm chattering of everyone fill the room. "Dining for one, only?"

"Bar," he smiled, "for one."

Nodding, the hostess pointed to the bar at the side, in which he walked over and sat on a bar stool like he owned the place, cocky smile evident on his face. "I'll have the usual."

The bartender turned around, and Chan immediately reckognized the sharp jawline. "Coming right up, sir." With a wink, the bartender looked around the tavern to see if anyone was looking. He reached into his pocket to take out a crumpled piece of paper, then slid it over to Chan. 

Discreetly, Chan hovered his hand over the paper and hid it within his fist. 

Not long after, the bartender set a small glass down in front of Chan, stirring the drink for extra effect. Really, it was just water. _But sure, why not. Whatever makes it believable._ "Thank you." Grabbing the fake cocktail, he slowly took a sip just like anyone else there. Blending into the background, like a normal customer. 

Letting the time pass slowly, and checking his sides for any onlookers, he uncrumpled the message and held it low just in case. 

_Channieeeeee, it's been a while but we can catch up later . .  
Don't make it obvious, but there's some Mercenaries in that back table by the Most Wanted wall  
It looks like they're going after the top reward, unfortunately  
More people have been noticing the steady increase in the price lately, so there's a lot more competition  
Be careful, and watch your back!_

****

_. . Oh, and tell Seungmin I say hi :D_

Chan hid the paper in his pocket. He would have to thank Changbin for the information later. 

But at that moment, an anger built up inside him. He had personal business to settle with the Most Wanted thief in the world. When he stopped in front of the bulletin board with all the sketches of faces, he couldn't help but wonder how many people set out to bounty hunt the number one thief. There were at least thirty other criminals' faces on here, yet all these greedy Pirates could think about was gold. Narrowing his eyes at the Most Wanted thief's sketch on the wall, he confirmed the facial features of this man once again. 

Sharp nose bridge. Thin lips. Dark hair, swept and almost covering the fronts of his eyes. 

Then, he almost choked at the reward offered for this man. 

_10,631,805 gold pieces._

The last time he checked, not even a month ago, it was quite literally at around 5,000,000 gold pieces. What on earth could this thief have done to double the price since then? Clearly written in tiny print was the wording _Wanted Dead or Alive._

It certainly seemed like no one cared enough to have this guy alive. But Chan did. For revenge. He side-eyed at the table of Mercenaries on his left, watching as they all laughed drunkily, eating with their mouths open, and making a huge mess. Most of the them were twice, maybe even triple Chan's size. But he was in the mood to pick a fight today. He ripped the Most Wanted paper of Minho the Menacing off the wall, with some of its corners torn from where the thumbtacks were. He slammed down the sketch onto the Mercaneries' table in a loud burst that broke the atmosphere of the Grand Tavern, everyone's attention on him now. He could even see Changbin rolling his eyes and running his hands along his face in annoyance, because the whole point of gathering info for Chan was that it was supposed to be done secretly. 

But now Chan wanted the attention. He wanted the whole world to know. Pulling out his scimitar, he jabbed it down onto the table where it sliced through the Most Wanted sketch, pinning it in place. "The one who will be capturing the number one Most Wanted criminal is none other than the man that stands before you. If anyone wants to go after Minho the Menacing, they'll have to go through me first." He smirked, fully aware that he was just asking for trouble. "And I don't like sharing."


	2. Smashed Bits and New Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How to create a Pirate fic?
> 
> Step 1: Go to youtube
> 
> Step 2: Search up pirate music to set the mood
> 
> Step 3: Profit

Being outnumbered is a huge disadvantage. Three to one, to be exact. Being far weaker was a worse one. By large margins.

But the life of a Pirate was always one of risks.

"Calamity Chan," the drunken Mercenary on the left spat. "What brings you to Mansa, has the ol' Pirate shtick gotten too much for you?" The Mercs all cackled loudly, banging on the large table with their enormous hands. 

Another one of them on the right spoke out. "Don't go too far on the jokes now, maybe he'll cry," he playfully mocked. "Little small-fry here hasn't a proper crew," the rough laughters bellowed out at once, deep from their rounded stomachs.

Chan did his best to hide his partial smirk. "Are you boneheads all talk? Or shall we get straight to the dancing?" Them knowing his name would make this much easier once he was finished. The goal of spreading his name far and wide to every corner of the world! Infamous Bang Chan was back, and he was on a quest for vengeance. There was nothing quite like the thrill. The adrenaline from Pirating. The spirit in its nature. The liberation. Having freedom to do whatever he wanted, to take what he wanted to his heart's content. It was a lifestyle. His way of life. 

"Eh?" the middle Merc on the opposite end of the table grunted, burping loudly and slightly wobbling to a side as he struggled to hold up his intoxicated body. He looked like the leader of the three. Judging by the subtle slur in his speech, Chan figured they all had a little too much to drink. "Who you callin' bonehead, you runt! Why I ought to teach you a lesson! Your days..." In agitation, the middle Merc shoved off all of his remaining lobster and shrimp from one of the stainless steel dinner plates. The beers shook abruptly once he firmly grabbed onto the plate's side and flung it in the air across the table like a rotating frisbee on its side, "... are numbered!"

The steel platter honed in quickly towards Chan's head, but he countered without a moment to lose by yanking out the stabbed scimitar stuck on the table upwards in a swift motion and deflecting it sideways as it spun out of control. Many people screamed and scrambled out of their chairs at the sudden fight, some making their way to the exit in a messy flock. In his peripheral, he could see Changbin immediately ducking as the silver platter barely missed his face and crashed into the bartender shelves directly behind him, knocking over some glass. Changbin made great stride in dodging them as they shattered down below one by one, diving to safety at the last second over the counter and landing on his butt. "Damn it, Chan!" Changbin panted heavily from almost meeting the broken shards, "You better watch it!"

"Sorry buddy," Chan smiled widely at the chaos, "I know you wanted to live a normal life." He readied himself, taking his second knife out of its sheath. "But no can do!" Chan flung the scimitar towards the table's left edge where one of the Mercs was and then threw the dagger near a second Merc on the right side, forcing both of them to trip backwards on their chairs and fall hard to the floor. Simultaneously in that diversion, Chan hopped up to the table and began running across it, lunging himself forward towards the main Mercenary in the middle, knocking several dishes and beverages over in the process. Chan hit the Pirate dead-on with a headbutt to the stomach, managing to catch him off his balance as they both collided and crashed to the ground a few feet apart from each other. 

They both got up slowly, with the Merc still swaying side to side a bit. Chan took that opportunity to speed forward and aiming to punch but was stopped by the main Mercenary's rapid reflexes, blocking Chan's fist strategically with a huge forearm. Chan's eyes widened in shock as he was too close now. In the next second, the hired Pirate grinned eerily, revealing his half-rotten teeth. The Merc broke out of his clever act of drunkness and increased his motor abilities significantly, striking right below Chan's chin with an uppercut and sending him flying back a bit to the next table over. Chan's back hit the edge of the table, making him grunt in slight pain and causing more drinks to wobble off and shatter downwards. Multiple screams ensued as the frightened couple in that table fled in horror towards the exit. 

The whole tavern was being consumed by sheer fear of civilians, leaving chairs fallen over and numerous tables flipped on their sides. The tavern's swinging doors oscillated heavily on their hinges as people continued to pass through them. Changbin looked over at the hostess hiding behind the counter with the stainless steel plate shaking in her tight grasp. He nodded in her direction. "I'll take the blame for all this! I'll probably get fired, but the tips kind of sucked anyway! Go on, run! It was nice knowing you!"

She looked at him in shock. "What! We were both on our shifts! I can't let you do that!"

He looked over at Chan on the other side of the tavern struggling to get back up on his feet. Changbin shifted his focus to the plate in his co-worker's arms. "It's fine!" He grabbed the plate out of her hands, ready to join in alongside Chan. "I'm not cut out for this type of job! There's no point in running from the past if it just catches up to me in the end," he chuckled softly, almost in a defeated manner. Changbin looked at his reflection directly on the platter, showing his forehead and dark blue hair that was parted at the front. "Just go!"

The hostess looked at him in disgust. "You Pirates are all the same, you never grow up! You never change!" She quickly hopped over the counter and made a dash for the door.

Changbin hesitated, taking a step forward to the fight going on in front of his eyes, and he mumbled under his breath. "Sometimes we aren't allowed to."

Chan saw the Merc coming straight for him. He managed to get on his feet and jump out of the way in time as the Pirate punched and missed, splitting the wooden table in half instead with his giant fist. "You can dodge, but for how long?" the hired Pirate taunted Chan. "You know, you have a lot of guts for meddling in our bounty hunting. It's a shame all our swords are currently being sharpened at the ol' smith's place down the block. But this ought to be just as fun. I can take you out myself right now and it'll be like you never existed. I'm sure no one will miss the fact that a worthless Captain vanished."

In the corner of his vision, Chan could see his swords still jabbed onto the table right behind the Pirate. The two hired Pirates on the floor had slowly gotten back up but were wobbling. Out of no where, Changbin came running, holding the steel platter in front of his face for protection and as a battering ram as he dove head-first and knocked into the one of the drunken Mercs, launching both of them over the table and crashing into the second drunken Merc. The three of them all smacked into another nearby table, cracking the surface of the wood slightly and knocking the two drunken Pirates out cold.

Chan darted back his eyes to the large Mercenary. "Is that a challenge?" he smirked. "We can make a bet on that if you'd like."

The angry vein on the Pirate's forehead bulged. "All your talk always gets you into trouble, _Calamity Chan._ "

"Starting today, I wear my name proudly," Chan winked. He started to run directly towards the Pirate.

The Mercenary grit his teeth in anger, throwing out a fist. But rather than making impact Chan had ducked almost instantly, sliding under the tall Pirate's legs and making his way to the original table. Chan grabbed both the dagger and scimitar while facing towards the Merc, readying himself. "Do you think those will save you?" the Pirate glared.

"Why don't we test it out?" Chan, once again, dashed forward and slid under the Pirate, slicing at the fabric of trousers. The Pirate's belt slipped off and fell as it had been cut in the process. Chan scrambled for the belt when it landed, dropping his swords accidentally. 

Changbin got up steadily holding the side of his head, a little gash there from the impact. But it wasn't a serious wound by any means. "Chan, look out!"

As Chan turned around, he did not have enough time to even get up from the floor. The Mercenary came at him in full force, punching downward at him. Chan barely managed to shift his head to the side as the fist missed and scraped his ear. Using that opportunity, Chan wrapped the belt around the Pirate's muscular arm to pull him even more down, simultaneously using his leg to lightly kick up at the Pirate's body, using the Pirate's own weight against him as Chan lifted the huge man off the ground and launched him into a separate table. The smash rung loudly through the Grand Tavern. 

"Chan! Are you okay!?" Changbin ran over, giving Chan a hand to lift him off the floor.

"Yeah, Bin." He dusted off some dirt from his clothes. "Never better. Sorry about wrecking the place, by the way."

Changbin shrugged it off, slapping down on Chan's back comically. "Don't worry about it. But as for that guy..." he glanced over to the large Mercenary that Chan just knocked out unconscious. The food was all splattered and drinks drenched onto the flooring. Splinters and smashed bits of wood everywhere. Large chunks underneath the man. "Why don't we..."

"Tie him up?"

"Exactly what I was thinking."

Chan used the belt he slashed off to tie the Mercenary's hands and legs together behind his back. With a few knots and elaborate twists, he pulled to fasten it all together. "That works."

Changbin narrowed his eyes at the knots and limbs. "He looks like a pretzel." 

They both looked at each other, amused at the revelation. With a light chuckle, Chan thought it fitting to make a pun. "Rather than naughty, you could say he's _knotty_ by nature."

Holding back laughter by biting his lip, Changbin couldn't help himself either. "Why was he so fixated on the bounty? He really shouldn't be so _salty._ "

"He's _knot_ the tough guy he thinks he is."

They bursted out laughing. Suddenly with all the mess surrounding themselves in the Grand Tavern, Changbin didn't think things seemed so bad anymore. It was like old times again. As he wiped a tear away from his eye due to giggles, he looked at Chan up and down fully for the first time today. "Well, how long has it been since we've last spoken face to face like this? A year?"

"A year and three months," Chan corrected.

"And you still didn't grow at all. Same as always."

Chan rolled his eyes but not out of negativity. "Neither did you. We're adults. We stop growing."

"Still." Changbin laughed. "You should have visited more."

"I would have, but keeping tabs on Minho the Menacing isn't exactly hard when his face is everywhere." Chan paused. "And besides, we didn't ditch you. You ditched us."

"You know why I did," Changbin sighed. "I was weak. I was holding you all back."

"No one ever said or thought that."

"I retired after that last battle, it didn't end well. But it's a relief to see you, honestly. Even if you kind of destroyed the place," he motioned around to all the broken chairs and leg tables. "I'm glad you're still a Captain after all this time."

"Yeah, well..." Chan shrugged, crossing his arms. "Kind of busy searching for One-Eyed Yang's treasures. I can multitask and do two things at once."

Changbin whistled impressively. "You're still on about those inventions after years?" 

"All the smart people are." Chan had worked hard in navigating the seas. Of course, he also had Seungmin by his side. They had many bumps in the road and detours. Most inventions by One-Eyed Yang had been found all over the world. There was always a trick to discovering them. Maybe they were buried. Or perhaps there were traps. Unluckily for Chan and Seungmin, Gangwon Desert was the last place they wanted to visit on the list, and they feared all those treasures were gone too. The only thing they found was a shiny item in a winged serpent's nest. Afterwards, the five days they spent on the ship, they tried to see how the item worked by attempting to fix it or giving a good smack several times but ultimately gave up after several uncounted trials. It was a useless piece of junk. And at the end of the day, there was no telling whose it belonged to. "Getting your hands on one of those inventions could give you an advantage."

There was a sudden glimmer in Changbin's eye that Chan could see. "So did you find anything?"

Chan thought back to the broken compass. But then again, he didn't like sharing. Especially with someone who hasn't bothered to reach out to him. "Nope."

"So there's really nothing left? The rumors are true?" Changbin thought out loud. "That's disappointing."

_That's what all the Pirates want you to think,_ Chan didn't want to say that out loud. He studied One-Eyed Yang well. There had to be more. There had to be a secret. It was a gut feeling. The same gut feeling that Changbin probably got sick of and quit because of it. Being a genius is one thing, but being a treasure hunting genius is just something that seems fishy. And Changbin was probably tired of his conpiracies.

"So where's the ol' Seungmin? If you're here, then he must not be too far. You guys usually stick together like glue, for better or worse."

When they got to the lobby of the inn that they were staying at, Chan pressed the button on the wall and the elevator door opened. Changbin followed in after him, and on their way up there was a silence. An uncomfortable one. Chan had not seen his friend in over a year. He would think after all this time there would not be harsh feelings. But there was. The trust between them was broken long ago. Aside from that, there was something else bothering him. He had a vague idea of what it was. 

The elevator door opened once they arrived to the floor. "So..." Chan randomly spoke. 

"So..." 

Chan led him to their door room. "That was a wild fight back there at the Grand Tavern, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was."

After sliding in the key, he opened the wooden door. "I'm kind of surprised that you aren't angry at me. For basically ruining your job and all. No hard feelings?"

"None at all," Changbin said as he entered. "Like I said before it's kind of a relief. That's actually what I wanted to speak to you about. I don't want to run away anymore. I think I want to rejoin the crew. Like old times again." Next to the door was the restroom, once Changbin passed it he could spot the two beds. Seungmin was sleeping on the one closer to the window. 

While closing the door shut, Chan locked the knob. He was now standing in between the exit and Changbin. Now no one could get in or out. "You know what? That's very odd. Because last time when you said goodbye and told us that you found a job at Mansa, I specifically recall we made an agreement that you would at least keep tabs on Minho and anything about him."

Changbin turned to face him. "Is that not what I did? Like you asked?"

"It is," Chan stepped closer. "But I wasn't born yesterday. Knowing you, you didn't actually keep track every day. The note you gave me was also pretty weird. It was almost a little too convenient. After a whole year?" Chan stepped closer until he was face to face with Changbin. "And it was almost like one of those Mercenaries wasn't even drunk. Like if both you and him were expecting me. Do you know anything about that, Binnie?"

"That doesn't even make sense, Chan. How would I have known you were going to pick a fight with them?"

"The note."

"Huh?"

"The note you left me that's in my pocket," Chan repeated. "It said to be careful, and that I should watch my back."

"Yeah, and? I was looking out for you."

"What would you have meant when you said I should watch my back?" Chan grabbed a hold onto Changbin's collar and part of the front on his bartender uniform in sudden confrontation. "Did you mean that I should watch my back because of the Mercenaries, or were you referring to something else that I couldn't see? They would have just followed me even if I didn't take the bait, wouldn't they have!?"

Changbin glared at him angrily. "I don't know what you're implying. I just did like you asked! Now get off!"

Seungmin shifted his body, rolling over from all the ruckus. He sleepily wiped away at his eyes from his nap. "Chan? Changbin? Is that you?"

Chan was scowling. "Answer my questions."

"Look," Changbin stood his ground, cupping his hands into his face in annoyance. "Word gets around fast when you fly into Port Mansa on a magic ship. Did you honestly think no one knew? I even helped you in that brawl."

"Are you guys fighting?" Seungmin sat up on the bed, raising a brow.

"You can't be this naive, Chan. Seriously think about what you are saying. You caused a whole lot of commotion when you arrived. You got people talking. It's not like there's many magic ships in the world. Plus, your reptuation precedes you."

"Chan, do you even have proof?" Seungmin reasoned. "We're going to get kicked out if you all start fighting."

"Yeah, Chan," he said while trying to take Chan's hands off of him. "Do you even have proof?"

Seungmin continued. "Let's just all think of this logically."

"I guess... I guess I don't have proof," Chan casually spouted, lowering his fists away from Changbin's collar. He stepped back, facing away from the two of them.

"Okay, you see," Seungmin smiled warmly, "if we all just talk through things it'll work out."

Changbin attempted to pat off the wrinkles now on his clothes. "Thank you, Seungmin."

Standing there awkwardly, Chan was starting to think that maybe it was all in his head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." He was just trying to protect himself and Seungmin. If his reputation did really precede him, then that must mean he has a lot more enemies than he thought. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Changbin drew a long and relaxed sigh. "As long as we have that behind us now."

"Well, glad that was sorted out. I'll get back to my nap, and then maybe we can all catch up with each other at dinner in a couple hours."

"Sure," Changbin's voice resonated with Chan's back to him, "as long as I'm not the one paying."

Chan froze in place and it felt like his heart stopped momentarily. He had kept thinking back to all the things that happened today. When he backtracked carefully at all the events, he really was the one that started the fight. He can admit to that much. But he only started the fight because they were drunk. If they weren't drunk, then he would have never started something he couldn't finish. It was supposed to be easy for Chan. Except it wasn't. It wasn't that black and white. It was more complex. It didn't make sense to suspect Changbin judging by what happened, but that's exactly why he _should_ suspect Changbin. 

Chan slowly opened his mouth. "Why?"

The other two looked at him weirdly. "Why what?" Changbin asked. "Why I don't want to pay? I'm kind of broke, if you couldn't tell."

"No."

"No?"

"Why was it so easy for you to take down two people?"

"Because they were drunk, you saw them."

"But they weren't all drunk," Chan's statement silenced the room. "They were like sitting ducks, easy targets for you. The one I faced wasn't drunk at all. He was faking it. It was like he was expecting me to arrive, he was also quick at adapting. I know an experienced fighter when I see one. And yet..." he trailed off a bit. "And yet he missed more than once. And I was able to use the same move on him twice. And I was able to cut off his belt."

"Maybe you just got lucky," Changbin sat down on the edge of Seungmin's bed. "You did catch him by surprise at the end there."

Chan relaxed a little. "You're right."

"You just can't take a compliment, man. You give yourself little credit."

"You're right..." he nodded slowly, "except maybe the goal wasn't to beat me, but it was to get someone to infiltrate my crew. To get someone on the inside, depending on how I acted, and it had to be believable to gain my trust."

"Oh come on, Chan," Changbin's voice grew irritated. "More of your conspiracies?"

As Chan turned around to face Changbin, he looked him directly in the eyes. "When the plate was thrown at me the precision was spot on. You knew they weren't drunk because you were watching them the whole time. Yet you didn't stop me from picking that fight. You knew exactly how I was going to act because you know me so well. You were the one that led me to them. You knew."

The silence that followed weighed heavily in the room.

Pulling out his scimitar, Chan quickly grabbed Changbin's collar again and held the sword directly under his chin. "Drop the act. Who do you work for?"

"Chan..." Changbin's voice sounded hurt, and then a smirk creeped up at the corner of his mouth. "You always were perceptive, weren't you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> To the very first readers of chapter 1, you may remember this fic was titled as "Sailing Adventures of _ _ _" but i changed it because i wasn't feeling it anymore ANYWAY WE'RE MOVING ON DON'T EVER MENTION IT AGAIN IT'S EMBARRASSING OKAY BYE


	3. One Year and Three Months

"I'm going to ask you again. Who do you work for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Chan gripped at Changbin's collar harder. "Being snarky isn't going to work well for you here. You've changed, Bin."

"You think I wanted to change?" Changbin scoffed weakly, not even wanting to entertain the conversation anymore. "It hasn't been easy. On anyone."

Seungmin sat in the middle of this fiasco, watching it all go down. All he wanted was to sleep, and then maybe get a bite to eat. Knowing those two though, it's probably best to stay out of the way. For now. But unfortunately, a knocking at the room's door made all three of the boys halt their breathing momentarily. 

"Okay, okay," Seungmin warned in a low whisper. "I don't want a sound out of you two. You got it?" He rose up out of bed begrudgingly to walk towards the door. 

When looking through the peephole, Seungmin spotted one of the inn's employees. He took a quick glance at Chan still having Changbin in a hold, neither of them moving a muscle. This is honestly ridiculous. 

Seungmin turns the knob and opens it just a bit. Enough to only have a crack of light from the hallway peer in and show Seungmin's face while the rest of his body blocks the whole turn of events happening inside the dim room at that very moment. 

"Hi," one of the front desk workers greets. He is a man about six feet tall, very built in the shoulders, and could probably take all three of them on if he tried. "I got a call for a disturbance earlier? They claim the noise was coming from this room. As this is the only inn on Mansa island, we take pride in serving our customers to our upmost ability. Please keep the voice down to a minimum. Anymore ruckus and we might have to consider escorting you out of this establishment. No refunds."

That is actually pretty fair, if Seungmin is really thinking about it. Except between Chan and him, they are kind of low on money. And it's not like Changbin could provide. 

"I'm terribly sorry, sir. You see, I was actually sleeping! Just now. I tend to yell when I have dreams or nightmares, so that must have been what it was earlier. I'm so sorry. I'll do my best to stay _quiet_ from here on out," he emphasizes that word more for Chan and Changbin behind him.

"It's barely the evening."

"Yes, well, I like to take a lot of naps. As you can guess."

"I see. Just try to make sure it doesn't happen again," the man sternly responds. 

"Yes. Of course."

Seungmin shut the door and locked it, exhaling a bundle of air. He began to scold them. "If you two don't up-shut your faces, I swear. We can't get kicked out, we barely got here! Unless either of you have any coin you'd like to cough up right about now?"

"No," both Chan and Changbin say simultaneously. They look at each other in disgust, as if the mere harmony of their answer is a repulsive thought to digest. 

"Yeah, 'kay. Whatever," Seungmin pinched his nose bridge. "I can tell you both have a lot to catch up on. If you'll excuse me I'm going to pretend to wash up for an unreasonably long time and use that as an excuse to avoid you two. Have fun going at each other's throats or something."

Seungmin went into the restroom and locked himself in.

Chan resumed his interrogation of Changbin like nothing happened. It's going to have to continue at a lower volume. There is a sense of scorn and resentment in his stare. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, what happened to me? Now you're going to ask what happened to me? All of a sudden? Don't you have this whole accusing and asking thing backwards?"

"You're the one that sold me and Seungmin out. For who knows how much."

"I'm going to stop you right there. Do you really think I'm making a single gold piece out of this? Do you think this is fun for me? You think I want to do this?"

A silence. Chan looks him in the eyes again to see if Changbin is lying. Usually Changbin is a horrible liar. But that was when they were close and actually functioned as a crew together. It's been over a year, and his _friend_ — if he can even call him that — seems more rough around the edges. Rough in the sense of going through pain and hardship. It made him vulnerable somehow, Chan can tell. But also, a time of weakness is also a time for growth. This has made Changbin more polished in many ways. He's gotten tougher. More clever. For better or for worse. 

The refusal for Changbin to avoid eye contact in that moment kind of gave away that he is telling the truth. It felt genuine. So this could end two different ways. 

For starters, Chan can back off and forgive him. If Changbin is telling the truth, then maybe things could go up from here. It's a start. It's something. He does miss Bin deep down, after all. The second way this could end is he can cut Changbin out of his life forever. Sever the ties. And they would go their separate ways. He doesn't want to at all, but being a Captain requires making tough decisions. This could potentially spell doom for him _and_ Seungmin if he chooses wrong. It's obvious someone out there already has targets on their backs. For whatever reason. 

It's also possible that Chan can forgive Changbin, and Changbin will just stab him in the back later. There's also that to consider. 

So technically, this could end more than two ways. And it's complicated. In the end, the responsibility and all its consequences lies with Chan. He always did hate this. He is no stranger to having things backfire on him. 

Ultimately, he made his choice. Chan opted for the _harder_ option. He lowered his scimitar and let go of Changbin's collar. 

Sometimes forgiving someone is much harder than kicking them out of your life. He thinks so, at least. In this case, it is. 

Changbin's mouth slightly parted in shock. "Why are you doing this, Chan?" 

"Because I want to," he didn't look at him when he spoke. Instead choosing to put away the sword back in its place. 

"You're not angry?" 

"Of course I'm angry." 

"Then why let me loose? I set you up back there." 

"You did," Chan nodded. "But you look like someone who has a story to tell. So come on, out with it." 

"You're unbelievable," Changbin lowered his gaze to literally anywhere else, dismissing Chan's own resolution. "If I were you, I wouldn't give me a second chance." 

Chan sighs at the honesty. "Look, obviously you have some past experiences to process while me and Seungmin were away. So fine, let's not make this about you. Instead of saying I forgive you, let's say I released you because it benefited me. That's better, right? So tell me what you know, before I change my mind," Chan said the last part while smiling. It's more of an invitation than a threat. 

Changbin looked at him once more in disbelief. And he couldn't help but be a bit cheered up by that. It's touching. "That... works for me." 

Just then, Seungmin came out of the restroom. "Are you all still fighting, or do I need to pretend to be busy washing my face again?" 

"It's fine Seungmin," Chan laughs, waving him off. "I think things are okay again." 

Seungmin stepped closer, gesturing a hand to his own ear so that Chan could repeat that. "Sorry what? I think I may have misheard. It sounds like you... and Changbin... worked things out." 

"Hmm," Chan hummed. "Not really. But it's a step." 

"Oh," Seungmin shrugged, then hopped on over back to his bed, draping the sheets over himself and snuggling close to them. "Works for me." 

"That's what I said earlier," Changbin points out. "But anyway, you guys shouldn't have come back here. I was hoping you wouldn't come back to Mansa ever again." 

"Wow, ouch," Seungmin sounded disappointed. "Why is that?" 

"I mean don't get the wrong idea, I did want you all to come back at one point. Maybe after the first month as a bartender. It was pretty lonely, and giving up treasure hunting to pursue a normal life isn't exactly a smooth shift in transition. But I figured it was fine, so I endured. For the first month after you left, I kept at it. Then I think that was around the time that things started getting weird in Mansa." 

This piqued Chan's interest. "Weird how?" 

"More shipments started to arrive. At first, no one really knew what the goods in the boxes were. But these strange Pirates started unloading them and placing them in the streets. Next to shops. Houses. Just about anywhere. They'd repeat this day after day. But everyone minded their business, and no one really asked questions. Mansa is neutral territory, after all. It's just treated as a temporary stop for most people, so residents really do appreciate the additional tourism. Those Pirates paid for their booze and other local items, so they had the right to be here just as much as anybody else. Who was I to tell them to leave, right? I wasn't even born here, so it didn't feel right to butt in." 

Seungmin's eyes widened in horror. "I think I know where this is going." 

"Fast forward about two more months. So this is three months after you guys left, there was a huge surge in Pirate ships at the harbor. To the point where maybe the residents were outnumbered two to one. I'd never seen anything like it. These cargo boxes were beginning to be too much. They were basically everywhere, the whole island was littered with them. So I decided to do a little snooping myself. And that's when it happened." 

Chan tightened his fist in distress. "What exactly happened one year ago, Changbin?" 

"I opened one of the crate boxes. And when I looked inside—" Changbin bit his lip just remembering it all. "When I looked inside, the crate was completely filled to the top with gunpowder." 

A scary thought passes through Chan. Every time he stops by Mansa, he always notices it. Mansa's buildings are all completely built with wood. Even a single spark could do unimaginable destruction. 

"I shouldn't have opened the box that day," Changbin shuddered. "I regret it even now. But I did, and now I have to hold myself accountable. These Pirates weren't exactly independent. They were hired goons. One of them happened to be on watch duty and caught me from behind as soon as I realized it was gunpowder. Then—" he gulped. "Then, the Mercenaries rounded up the whole town. They threatened to light everything on fire unless the Mansa leaders agreed to have the island become secret Pirate territory for their operations. Over time, many of the town's leaders fled as a result. Things got so corrupt. It was all kept so secret, hardly anyone outside of Mansa knows about it. Hardly anyone _in_ Mansa talks about it out of fear. And now here you guys are... right in front of me. You shouldn't have come. I couldn't do anything to protect anyone, I'm sorry—" Changbin choked up, tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes. 

Chan immediately put a hand on Changbin's shoulder. "Hey, it's not your fault. If you say that the Mercenaries kept unloading crates, then most likely they would have threatened to burn things down anyway. They're monsters. They only care about money." 

"Chan's right," Seungmin agrees. "Blaming yourself for what could have happened if you did this or not isn't going to fix anything. But look on the bright side, we are here now! I'm just sorry we took so long to come back." 

"This island clearly holds strategic importance to them. Majority of the world's crews stop here annually. Changbin, you need to tell us who the boss is of the Mercenaries. Or at least the name of their own crew." 

He shook his head. "I don't— I don't know anything, unfortunately. After all this time, I'm still left in the dark. Sometimes the Mercenaries would give me tasks here and there. They did force information out of me, like telling them about how you were after One-Eyed Yang's inventions. I think that's one of many things that they're after. They want anything with a lot of money, even things like bounty hunting." 

"Of course!" Chan whispers. "The answer was right in front of me all along. They're after me because they think I have information on the inventions. And they're also after Minho the Menacing because of his bounty value. It's all starting to connect." 

"Yeah, but thankfully you don't have any info on those inventions," Changbin added. "The Mercenaries must have overheard that part of our conversation back at the tavern while they were pretending to be knocked out. They shouldn't be going after you anymore. But it's not just you they suspect, they suspect anyone _near_ you. So the Mercs wanted me to get info out of Seungmin, as well. That's why they forced me to get as close as possible to you again. As if one year and three months wasn't a long time to make things a bit awkward," he eye rolls. "But basically, my mission was to gain your trust, dig around, and betray you. But I can relax now, because you all don't have anything like that," Changbin exhaled deeply in relief. 

Seungmin side-eyes at his Captain. "Well..." 

Chan groans. "That isn't exactly the case." 

The world must have felt like it stopped spinning on its axis in Changbin's perspective. "What!? What are you talking about?" 

Rummaging through his trouser pockets, Chan took out the broken compass item he found. "I snatched this from Gangwon Desert. Inside the Devil's Caverns." 

Changbin looked like he was going to faint. "You went to _that_ place... Well, damn. The rumors are true after all. No matter how many times you almost put us in danger, I take back everything bad I said about you when you kept going off about your conspiracies. But really, Chan!" 

"Calm down," Chan assures. "It's just a useless compass. It doesn't even work. And we don't even know who it belongs to." 

"Still," Changbin winces. "If there's even the slightest chance that it belongs to One-Eyed Yang, then it most likely is. How many other lost compasses do you know of, realistically? And you _know_ the Pirates are wanting to go after it, one way or another." 

"Well," Chan shoves the compass back in his pocket. "Finders keepers. Losers can kiss my shoes, and my ship's poop deck." 

"You're hilarious," Changbin sarcastically spouts, letting himself fall backwards on the bed and sink into the mattress. 

"Me and Seungmin clean the ship spotless like every day, don't be such a baby." 

"I'm not being a baby, you're the one making jokes that a toddler could come up with." 

"Fair enough," Chan clears his throat. "Alright, so here's what we're going to do. We all need to find a way out of the island. Quickly. There's a chance they could still be tailing Seungmin. And if Changbin doesn't report to them soon, I'm sure they'll start to get suspicious." 

Seungmin yawns. "We just got here." 

"Well, now we're leaving. Pack your bags. As for you Changbin, I assume you don't have many belongings, so what you have on right now will do." 

Seungmin gets up to go pack while Changbin immediately sits back up. "Woah, woah. What are you talking about?" 

Chan looked at him confused. "You're coming with us. I thought that was obvious." 

"What? No! I can't leave. We need to help these people on the island." 

"Changbin... you need to help yourself before you can help anyone else. We can gather supplies in another island, maybe recruit people for help, and then come back here." 

"There you go using your Captain reasoning again. No, you don't understand. I can't. If I leave and something bad happens to the island while I'm gone..." he drifted off. "I don't know— I just can't, I can't leave them. I don't want to take that risk." 

"So then..." Chan scrunched up his nose briefly in deep thought. "What do you want us to do?" 

"I don't know! If I knew, don't you think I would have done something already? We wouldn't be in this situation if I knew what to do." 

Chan slowly closed his eyes and rubs the sides of his head gently with his fingers. He's beginning to get a headache thinking of all this mess that's smacking him in the face right now. "Alright, fine. We'll stay and help the town. But I'm a Pirate, I didn't sign up to save lives. I'm pretty sure the Mercenary I fought was testing my skills back at the tavern, too. We need to watch out for him. He's good. Really good." 

"If we're going to do this, we need to be prepared." Changbin stood up. "As you can probably tell over the past year, the number of Mercenaries have gone down. There's probably a lot less than half now. When majority of the hired goons departed the island over the last several months, they ended up taking most of the gunpowder crates with them since they didn't need them anymore. There's still a few left somewhere on the island that they might use just in case. But they're well hidden. I don't exactly know how to find them." 

Seungmin is sitting on the carpet floor next to his backpack while holding some shirts in his right hand and toothpaste in his left, contemplating and struggling to come to a decisive answer for the past minute. "You all are so confusing, so do I pack or not?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .  
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> short chapter, but HELLO STRANGER CAME OUT YES and the chan video calls are so sweet i fell in love with him all over again


	4. Room Service and Broken Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg hi how is everyone?? alright so its been a while blah blah you know the drill im terrible at updating, but yeah im sorry for that.. on the bright side i graduated uni and have a little bit of free time until august so there's that, no promises because im also bad at those lmao! im excitedd to keep doing this story, i figured the chapters are getting shorter but its better than nothing honestlyy, and i'd rather have progress than zero progress, WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER eventually

"Don't pack," Chan clarifies to Seungmin. "Our priority should be the crates scattered around the island. In the meantime it's probably best for Changbin to leave. If he spends any longer hanging around I'm sure those boneheads will start catching on. Eliminating as many risks as possible would be ideal."

"Wouldn't want anything to backfire on us, now would we?" the blue-haired bartender flicks at a piece of lint on his sleeve quietly, yet the other two men in the room glance at him concernedly. 

Changbin doesn't even need to pay mind in their direction to know they're staring at him. Over the course of Chan and Seungmin's prolonged absence in his life, he has known fear for not only himself but for others as well. Whether it was keeping a watchful eye on the customers in the tavern, or passing along secret written messages to shady travelers that he never bothered reading, and even trying to protect the local residents by always catering to every rotten-stench Pirate's wish. But the pity of his friends isn't going to solve anything. 

"You're right. I should go then, and I'll try to get them off your back for as long as I can. It's the only thing I can do right now anyway."

Seungmin squints at the toothpaste in his palm hungrily. They do eat on the ship, but it's been a while since they've had a full course meal, and right now the mint-flavored brand is looking rather appealing. At least he's a Pirate with good hygiene, he thinks, before shoving the tube back where his belongings are.

Chan escorted Changbin out the door, with the latter now standing in the hallway. They don't say a word as Chan is grabbing onto the handle, hesitating to close it. In the background of the room, they can hear the faint sound of a stomach grumbling. But they ignore that.

"Be careful, Bin." He offers an unsure smile. "I promise we'll try our best to help you. Although I'm afraid that's as far as my promise can go."

It's no secret. Realistically, things are looking bad for the state of the island. It would be quite impossible to ensure everyone's safety. Confrontation is inevitable as well. There isn't a lot of options and perhaps there never were many to begin with. Changbin is no stranger to the truth. He's lived here long enough to know that. That part scares him. Yet he appreciates Chan's honesty.

In a small voice, he responds to the Captain, "I know. Thank you."

After Chan finally closed the door, Changbin tiredly sighs and makes his way toward the end of the hallway. Before he pushes for the elevator button, he wonders if he's making the right decision.

Meanwhile, back inside the room, Seungmin jumps on top of a bed, and his stomach gives another audible growl. Chan laughs as soon as he notices it.

"I did promise dinner after the Gangwon Desert trip. But with the whole lingering danger and all..."

Seungmin faceplants into the mattress, covering the back of his head with a pillow, "It's fine. I'm not disappointed. Maybe a little. I knew I should have stocked up more on snacks." He peeks out from under the soft material. "Do you think we could use the ship?"

"No," Chan answers flatly. "Not a chance. It's not safe."

"We have a kitchen in our ship when you think about it. There's also the storage room. Probably a sack of potatoes left over in there or something. Could make a quick dish out of that."

"Opening the ship bottle here at the inn would probably destroy half the building. And we can't risk walking all the way to the docks. What if we're seen? It's more trouble than it's worth. As for letting it float in the sky, we might as well signal the enemies our location. It would be so easy to spot."

He did have a point. At best, they're stuck. At worst, they're dead. Based on what Chan and Changbin had been discussing, Seungmin picked up on a few things. Like the skepticism surrounding the trio's trust. And apparently a gang of Mercenaries running amok. A brawl at the tavern. He could connect the dots from there, even on little sleep.

Chan rummaged through his backpack for a minute, taking out some gold pieces from within, "How about this? Room service on me. It's not much but—"

In that split moment Seungmin immediately sprang up and snatched the money, "You don't need to convince me twice! This treasure finding commitment thing pays terribly."

"Har har," Chan takes a small look through the curtains before re-closing them. "The dusk of the night is fast approaching. Maybe we can sleep in and hide out for a while."

"Sounds good to me," the younger eased into his puppy slippers that matched his pajamas. 

His Captain chuckled as Seungmin rushed out the door. He didn't really care how he looked, if that weren't obviously displayed. Chan softly shut it without locking it, for when he comes back. The unmistakable skidding and sliding of slipper on floor echoed through the corridor until he reached the elevator. Once inside, he pressed the button marked as F1, letting it take him down all the way to the lobby as he spots his reflection of grey hair in the metallic surface of the elevator's frame.

A subtle shake of ground later, and it dings open for him. Just as he's about to singsong his way to the front desk, his heart stops. 

Directly in the middle of the wide lobby is a grinning Changbin. Accompanied by several other people. All of their attention completely not on the elevator. From this big distance Seungmin can make a quick head count of a little less than ten. They're wearing their tattered sashes and clothes. At least two have an eyepatch each. Seungmin swears he can see weapons concealed within their back pockets. 

Those are _Mercenaries_. The bad kind. Are they with Changbin? Suddenly the men walk up to the front desk, and he sees the inn employee starting to chat it up with a smile.

Quickly, Seungmin ducks back into the elevator before the doors shut in their delay. And he's out of sight! Just in time. His heart is pounding rapidly. Considering he's clutching it so hard. He knows what he saw. Was Chan being followed? Or did the goons already know they were staying here?

How did Chan not think of this? It's not like them to be so reckless. There can't be many inns on the island to check in the first place! But it's not like they're deeply familiar with Mansa. They're so clearly at a disadvantage.

This is the longest elevator ride of Seungmin's life by the way, feeling as if every passing second spans a millennium. He's gritting his teeth so hard, just waiting for those two sliding elevator doors to open. Once they barely separate enough, he squeezes through the tiny space and bursts through the hall, not caring how obnoxious his stomps are. He makes it safely into their room and uses every lock on it. All the clicks making him increasingly more aware that this is actually happening.

A faint sound of running water is heard from the locked restroom. 

"Chan!" He bangs on it many times. "Chan! Can you hear me!"

After an excruciating couple seconds, the knob turns, and a head pokes out. Chan, with his drenched hair and shirtless torso appears. 

"Seungmin?" he questions, narrowing his brows in confusion. "What's wrong? I'm in the middle of a shower. Why do you have that look on your face? You're scaring me."

"It's.. the Pirates, Chan. They're downstairs. It's only a matter of time before they find us."

His Captain's breathes in the horror all at once. "Pack everything, hurry," he says before slamming the restroom door. And another shout is heard, "Hurry!"

Seungmin stumbles over himself and immediately starts throwing everything together. Meanwhile, Chan turned off the water and comes running out with a towel over his lower half. Mostly dry, but some droplets wetting the rug carpet. Seungmin tosses him his brown attire from earlier, the other catching it. 

And that's when it happens.

A knock at the door that makes them freeze. Chan looks over at him fearfully. Without hesitating, Seungmin bends down and reaches underneath his bed to take out Chan's two swords, then placing it over on the bedspread. He reaches one more time to take out a saber sword. It's his. 

Light weight and has a long cutting edge, along with a curved blade. Also hasn't been used in a while. But the weapons were hidden there, just in case. 

The knock comes again, and a man's voice is heard from the other side. "Hello?"

It doesn't seem familiar. 

Chan mouths, _"Don't answer it."_

_"I won't."_

Carefully, Seungmin approaches the door. Slowly and steadily. He's scared to look through the peephole. 

"Hello, is anyone in there?" the man asks.

By this time, Chan is done changing, finishing off by putting on his obnoxious brown hat. He just needs the backpacks. And some more time. It's possible if they just stall—

"Did you order room service?" the voice from behind cryptically challenges.

Chan immediately looks over at him, mouthing, _"You ordered room service?"_

_"No,"_ he quickly denies, even confused himself. 

A knife stabs through the wooded door, startling Seungmin. Chan tosses him the finished backpack and uses his sword to smash the window on the opposite side of the room. Technically, it's the type that can't open anyway.

"Come on! Over here, Seungmin!"

Multiple more knife holes carve out a large enough hole for a hand to emerge through the door, slowly undoing each lock one by one. Seungmin gulps, turning back to Chan who literally just jumps out the window in front of his very eyes. The last lock is undone and the door opens, revealing some Mercenaries that Seungmin has never met before in his life. With their ugly smirks and patchy stubble. 

He doesn't have a choice and sneers at them. A rapid dash for the only possible exit now, the young adventurer takes a leap of faith in his puppy slippers and plunges down below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can i just say grey seungmin is so good !! its a throwback to levanter era if u remember that one, i also noticed i never properly introduced seungmin's real everyday clothes so that will be mentioned in the short future 
> 
> hair colors dont really matter but i think they're cool, so far we have  
> \- blond/blonde chan  
> \- black hair minho  
> \- dark blue changbin  
> \- grey seungmin  
> \- future characters soon


	5. Disguised Mutiny and Ominous Omen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the story is picking up

The fall wasn't too bad. Chan grunted when he landed safely on a bunch of shrubs. As he looked up at the now night sky (and broken window from the inn room), he couldn't help but notice Seungmin diving after him. He gulped in a panic and rolled off the plant, landing on the cobblestones of town square as he did so.

"Incoming!" Seungmin yelled out in the open, body dropping rapidly and hitting the soft leaves. His limbs in a little bit of a tangled mess.

Luckily no one ever trimmed these, so the branches didn't poke at their sides harshly. Chan offered his hand to help him out of there, and once he did the two scanned up at their invaded room for a moment. The Mercenaries are definitely experienced in targeted attacks, there's no mistake. Yet they aren't peering out the window to spot Chan and Seungmin, which can only mean they're already on their way back down. 

"We need to get some distance in between us and them," Chan sternly breathed out.

Not much to argue against that. So they ran for the opposite end of town square, with their lives literally at stake. How is it that the situation turned on them this heavily. In a single day's worth of time. Still, there's hardly much to process while being chased. Passing some closed shops and deliberately avoiding the brightness of the street lamps while ducking into the shadows of the alleyways. 

The stench of trash dumpsters from the back of restaurants crawled its way up to their noses. But they're safe and pressing their backs against a wall, bringing their panting to a minimum. Chan looks to the side to see Seungmin's face, but he can't really get a read on him. It's both a curse and a blessing. He doesn't know what he's thinking, but at the same time it's kind of reassuring to have someone so reliable. Seungmin may be a metalsmith and a formidable fighter in his own right, yet the man also has nerves of steel. The leader has always noted the younger's personality in quickly regaining composure during times of crisis.

"What did you see back there? At the inn," Chan lets his voice trail off in whispers. "You saw them coming?"

Seungmin grips harder at the saber sword in his right hand. It's traitory. Downright traitory, and it disgusts him to incredible lengths at how Changbin has gotten so good at lying to people's faces. To the point where even Chan trusted the guy in the end. But it was Changbin, after all... their friend of many years. Could he blame him? In this moment, Seungmin doesn't want to admit the truth. 

"I found the Pirates in the lobby," he says. "I think the inn's employees are in on it as well. Quite frankly I'm not sure we were safe in there to begin with. They would have cornered us eventually when our guards were down." He still recalls the front desk person happily conversing with those crooks. 

Maybe deep down, when Changbin was explaining his story, Seungmin wanted to believe in him. They wanted to believe in him so badly. Seungmin wants to blame his own lack of rest and hunger. But perhaps that had nothing to do with it. It was an oversight on their part, and he'll make sure it won't happen again. 

Knitted brows inclined on Chan's serious face. "We have to regroup with Binnie somehow. That'll be difficult because we didn't establish an effective communication method with him, but maybe we can work our way over to the docks—"

There he goes with his rambling. And using a familiar nickname at that, too. It irks Seungmin. 

"Captain." Seungmin's dignified tone kicked in, cutting through the other's talking. No bullshit, and just going in straight to the point. And it surprises Chan because it brings back memories from when they first met. "There's something you should know."

"What?" he's confused, blinking with a curious expression. "What is it, Seungmin?"

"A traitorous war has been declared," truly, it hurts to say it out loud. "By our dearest friend."

Chan tenses. "You can't possibly mean.."

"I do. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Mutiny? Changbin?" he asks, the disbelief unmistakably tracing his words. "Are you sure?" 

Seungmin knows this may be hard for Chan to take in. He has to convince him, otherwise this could get bad. 

"I may not have heard the conversation directly, but when I was about to get off the elevator I could read Changbin's lips in that split second. I'm sure of it. He gave them our room number himself. Then the employees must have allowed them all access to go up the floors. No questions asked. It's coordinated effort from multiple sides."

He shakes his head, desperately wanting to deny it. "But we agreed to help Changbin. Why would he.."

Again, Seungmin is irritated. 

"Quite frankly, Captain, I don't care for his reasonings anymore. He had his chance. If there is one thing I despise in this world, it's disloyal allies," Seungmin tried not to grit his teeth too much, then he inevitably exhaled deeply through his nose after several moments, calming down. "And if that occurrence takes place within our crew, then it's within my jurisdiction to eliminate the threat. I don't need your approval for that. Essentially this will boil down to one thing and one thing only," he turns his head to look directly into Chan's eyes. "Do you trust me, or do you trust Changbin?"

This has to be the only way. Seungmin has already properly analyzed the situation in his head and has reached this conclusion. Any other possible route could lead to their downfall. It's terrible to think about. How one day a warm friend can be one of their worst enemies down the road. But they need to determine everything objectively, without emotions interfering constantly. No matter how personal it is. These specific situations can be draining and tiresome, yet the reality isn't always pretty.

"You're? You're asking me to choose?" he questioned rhetorically. "If— If I were to place my faith in one over the other, then.." 

Chan's unsure wrinkles on his forehead and inner turmoil must be noticeable. He leaned his head back against the wall in the quietness, sliding down in a bent position, for several moments. Seungmin can hardly blame him, doing the same. Decisions don't always come easily. The moonlight from beyond is a reminder of their ticking opportunity going to waste. And eventually a glint in Chan's eyes became more sure. More confident.

"Then it would be you, Seungmin, yes. I'm positive."

A joyous relief to hear, and Seungmin manages to smile. Even if he is in his puppy pajamas in the middle of an alleyway and the horrid smell of mixed items is clawing up his nostrils, threatening to bring him to tears out of biological defense against irritants. Someone probably threw away chopped up onions.

But even so, in his dirtied puppy slippers, he declares war against Changbin. And Seungmin will surely prevail.

Chan doesn't talk much for the next several minutes. Mostly, they're trying their best to keep their ears on alert. For any possible footsteps or the occasional _Aarrgghh!_ It's a killer on their knees, but the adrenaline running through their veins is enough to push anyone forward. 

The humidity and enclosed space makes them sweat, such is the lifestyle of the island. Either sticking to Chan's forehead in a shiny layer, or trickling down Seungmin's cheek.

They aren't entirely sure what to do at this point. Clueless of the bigger picture, at a disadvantage with the terrain, and obviously dealing with the shock of Changbin's ultimatum. He sold them out. (Again).

All of this conflict over a silly compass. That may or may not even be real.

Realistically, Chan thinks Changbin couldn't have taken the both of them on. Not when they far outclass him in the arts of swordsmanship. So his only option was to resort to outnumbering them. Like the coward he is. 

"I don't think they'll find us here," Seungmin mutters. "At least for now. Haven't heard footsteps or any sign of noise. Should we run to the docks like you wanted?"

Chan bit his lip, deeply unsure of what the right choice is. "No, it's best not to. In hindsight, if I were in their shoes, that would be the first place I'd check. They're probably already scouting that area as we speak. We're safer staying put and—"

Just before he could finish, a loud slam through the alley jolts their eyes wide open, having them clutch at their weapons. Off to their side a whiny bald man is seen coming through a shack restaurant's backdoor, swinging his muscly arms as he tosses three trash bags haphazardly. 

"Darn rats. Already have to pay rent, now we need to deal with infested rodents," he spits onto the ground before going back inside, his mumbling eventually vanishing and the creaking door shutting back closed.

The two relax in their sighs of relief. So it wasn't an immediate danger. 

Chan chuckled, smiling at Seungmin, "Why don't you sleep? I'll be on the lookout just in case. We can take turns in shifts."

He gives him a disgusted look. "For starters it's gross here."

Date: _January 21, 2020_  
Location: _Town Square, Mansa_  
Population: _15,781_  
Distance from Port Mansa: ---

Chan isn't much of a morning person. Seungmin has bags under his eyes.

The sunlight's warmth is a bit too strong once they exit the shade of the alley. Sounds of kids' laughter ease in. And they're scampering about disorderly, floating kites tied to their wrists, most likely playing tag and almost running into Seungmin's chest but nearly avoiding the collisions at the last moment. Two girls have pigtails and a bounce to their steps, a boy has a bottom missing incisor yet grins otherwise, meanwhile the rest have chalky dirt stained on their clothes. But they all seem to have something in common.

They're genuinely happy.

He watches on as they jump onto a front porch's stairs, skipping by twos and threes, eventually reeling in their strings and heading inside a store.

Chan pats himself off of any lingering filth, as well as his travel backpack. Not that there's any.

Seungmin faces him, finally asking the miracle of questions, "Food?"

The Captain rubs at his face drowsily.

"Sure." 

It's to be expected. Chan being Chan, he doesn't usually say much after first waking up. Ever. It's more of a gradual buildup where he inevitably returns to his normalcy. Seungmin, on the other hand, is the type to wake up early. Productivity tends to be easier with the bigger start in the day you have. And well, if they're going to outsmart any pursuers, they're going to need all the chances they can get. 

So far so good.

Amusingly, many stalls are propped up on every corner and space, vendors either shouting out special discounts or luring people into a scam. From selling antiques to home-made artwork and customizable jewelry. The large crowd up this early is particularly rowdy, and despite what happened last night this scenery is full of life. It cheers up Chan a little bit, because this is the Mansa he fell in love with many years ago. 

It isn't until they stop at a fruit vendor that Chan says more than one word.

"How much for these?" he points at an orange neatly stacked on top of a bunch of others.

The tall woman with bright red curly hair sorting through some items smiles, "Name's Vee. Welcome! And that depends. Is that all you're buying?"

"I'm.." Chan hums for a moment or two, "not sure," he hums again, squinting at everything on display. 

There's a bunch of greens and yellows in a box, even some purples and pinks on the other edge of the table. Half of these he's never seen before. Seungmin kind of wants the apple, but he'll just let Chan purchase first. 

"Two peeled oranges, I guess," Chan eventually speaks, looking towards Seungmin's general direction and then back at her, "and maybe a dozen strawberries?"

"I wanted the apple, and I'll pay for my own stuff."

"Well too bad," his Captain chips in. "You'll get scurvy if I don't order for you."

After she scooped up the fruit and made some calculations on a piece of paper, she stuffs them into a small bag, "That will come out to 15 gold pieces."

"15?" Chan repeats incredulously, "I'm fairly certain I know the prices. 15 is hardly the correct amount. You'll have to do a better job at deceiving."

Vee twists her face into a scowl. "Are you trying to bargain?"

"Are you trying to scam?"

Bang Chan certainly seems awake now, Seungmin thinks. 

"I'll give you 11. At most," he offers.

She stares at him viciously, not backing down. "Unfortunately sir, with recent events surrounding the mainland's forest fires, I'm afraid the prices have soared. Shipments to Mansa don't come as often as they used to. You would know this if you bothered keeping up with current events."

To be fair, Chan and Seungmin were away for quite some time. The two only came here like... once within the span of over a year. Which was last month, more or less. And it was just to restock for the Devil's Caverns. They hardly keep up with the mainland countries.

"As of right now, this is the best I can do," she tries to explain. "The set total is 15. Take it or leave it."

"I said 11," he says more firmly, crossing his arms in defiance. This is blatant robbery! Does she think gold grows on trees? Well, aside from the infamous Golden Tree, but that's just a myth. "Not any higher than that."

The vendor glances at his attire before clicking her tongue in annoyance. "You're a Corsair, aren't you? Why do you look down on us? You must make some extra on the side from your commissions."

"Ex-Corsair," he bites bitterly, and Seungmin can tell that Chan is getting angry.

Normally, Chan wouldn't give these types of comments the time of day. However, it's the morning. And again, Chan isn't a morning person. Which means this conversation will probably go south pretty soon.

"Look blondie, it's not hard to figure out." Vee sets the bag down on the table in frustration. "You hardly live here. Even have your own weapons attached to your hip. I don't even have to guess it's from the mainland."

"I'll stop you right there. Not that it's any of your business," he clarifies, pointing towards Seungmin without really looking at him, "but my friend here made these for me. He's a weapon forger. He can make just about anything if he sets his mind to it, no problem. I even personally retrieved the minerals myself, no shady business involved. That was a long time ago." He sighs. "And I don't work for the mainland. I work for myself. Anymore questions?" 

The dozens of governments in the mainland tend to take advantage of others. That much is no secret. Chan did have a job doing special trade route commissions for one of them and managed a past crew at a certain point, but once he found out the details of another department he quit and left. Being accused of doing dishonorable deeds gets under his skin. But of course, walking away from his job is generally frowned upon. So spiteful and powerful people effectively blacklisted him from most jobs, along with slander. He now gets by through forming contracts elsewhere and fulfilling those, usually being trivial tasks. He hasn't done one in a while, though.

Anything else like digging up clues on lost inventions from the legendary One-Eyed Yang is just something he does because he wants to. And besides, Seungmin probably wouldn't be friends with Chan if he was that type of 'bad' person.

But then she says something absolutely infuriating and out of no where.

"Once a pawn, always a pawn."

That's when Chan started visibly fuming. And the two began arguing and yelling back and forth.

It didn't even seem real. Was a vendor really instigating something? This early in the morning? Meanwhile the rest of the crowd doesn't seem to care since this can probably happen every day. But in this instance, it's more like she's trying to get a reaction out of him, and Seungmin doesn't like it one bit. There's something very off about this whole situation, but he can't seem to place his finger on it. 

"Just let me pay and I'll be on my way already!"

"15!"

The shouts drowned out in Seungmin's head like static. What purpose was there to this? He just wants to eat and go. Drawing more attention to themselves is not the best thing to do either. But then Seungmin has the strangest suspicion deep in his gut, and his face contorted in sudden realization. He quickly turns around just in case, noticing a total stranger covered completely from head to toe in a tattered dark green robe trying to steal something from Chan's pocket. She's a swindler, and she has an accomplice!

"Don't even think about it," he grabs the pickpocket's wrist forcefully, effectively stopping him. 

The boy in the robe frightengly jumps, unable to yank and run away, though he attempts in vain. And his face is still hidden.

"Chan, it appears we're being played for fools. I recognize those silent footsteps anywhere," he smirks, not letting go. "But you're a little too unskilled to be using that swashbuckler technique, wouldn't you say?"

"Let me go, you old fart," the boy scratches and pulls. 

Seungmin just grips harder like an iron claw while Chan finally stops arguing and spins around in confusion, "What happened?"

"This guy just tried to pickpocket you." Seungmin glares metaphorical daggers at Vee. "Have you no shame? Getting someone else to do your dirty work?"

The vendor scoffs, deeply offended, "I have no relation to him, although everyone knows Jisung around here. Times are tough, and I don't share in his profits, nor do I snitch on those in need. How dare you even imply otherwise."

"So you wouldn't care if he stole from us, that's what you're saying?" Seungmin scans her face for any lies, but she stays quiet.

"Jisung, is it?" Chan reaches out and pulls the robe off the boy's head, revealing a dark shade of freshly blue-dyed hair. It has a slight aqua tint to it. "What do you think you're doing?"

"That's Jisung the Jade to you!" he spits at the ground. "Now mind your business."

The irony. Also, what is with everyone spitting on the ground for dramatic effect? These are the thoughts that go through Chan's head.

"I see," the Captain nods. "Well I don't take too kindly to those that steal from me. So what shall we do with you? What do you suggest, Seungmin? Torture?"

"Hold on," Vee interrupts. "It's not his fault. He's just doing what he has to do."

"I know," Chan tries not to laugh. "Just trying to scare him a bit."

"No one is going to take you seriously with that banana hair," Jisung mumbles under his breath.

"What was that?" Chan challenges.

"I said you're a bonehead, and your bodyguard here is a freeloading nuisance," he finally breaks free from Seungmin's grasp with a last violent jerk of his arm.

Jisung runs off into the crowd of town square and disappears behind several residents. It'll be almost impossible to search if they go after him. But luckily he didn't steal anything from them, so it might as well be a lost cause of a wild goose chase. 

Vee clears her throat, throwing in a polite tone, "Alright, so how about a discount? On me. Maybe," she ponders for a second, "11 gold pieces?"

Chan smiles kindly, "Works for me."

After they finished, Seungmin recommended they go back to the thrift store. Realistically he wouldn't be able to do much in pajamas, and the place has a changing room anyway. It takes a couple streets to get there as it isn't exactly where town square is, and Chan noted the buildings as they pass by. 

For instance, most of the tourists tended to flock to the museum or the theater play while many of the local residents actually lived nearby. 

They go inside Mansa's Hand-Me-Downs, being greeted by the elder woman with glasses who is usually at the register. Her silver hair in a bun, and a newspaper in front of her.

Other than her, no one else is inside. Seungmin nods in his general direction and heads towards the changing room. His normal clothes should be in the backpack. Chan keeps himself busy by pretending he wants to buy something over at the folded shirt section in a corner. 

In just a couple minutes, Seungmin is already back and checking himself out in a mirror. Wearing a rolled up beige long sleeve, black pants, and a brown leather smith apron in front. A belt for his tools is secured around his waist, but the hammer and other equipment is back on their ship. So for now, only his sword goes there. 

"Much better."

That makes Chan laugh, but as soon as he takes one look in the mirror his smile fades. In the reflection, he sees men approaching the store door's window. They look familiar. Quickly, he grabs Seungmin by the shoulder and forces him to duck down together behind a large shirt rack, much to other's surprised yelp.

Seungmin looks at him not entirely sure what is going on, but Chan motions for him to be quiet with a finger over his lips. 

A jingle rings.

Chan can hear the footsteps of men approaching the front register. Him and Seungmin are somewhere in the middle of the shop, but they can't exactly escape now. From this distance, he just listens, and Seungmin doesn't dare move a muscle either.

"Morning ma'am, you wouldn't happen to have seen two boys running around here would ya?" one of the Pirates with a red feather hat grins eerily. 

Seungmin peeks a crack through the shirts. This guy is wearing a striped shirt. Shorts. Has stubble. Definitely one of the guys he saw the other day.

She puts her newspaper down, then adjusts her glasses, "I'm sorry, but who might you be?"

"I go by Redwood around here," the guy plays along. "This is Yellowteeth," he points to his friend behind him, "and this is Gunner Omen," the other friend waves at her threateningly with a blunderbuss musket. "So about those two boys I mentioned earlier. Would you happen to know where they are?"

Chan grips angrily at a knee, glaring at them through an angled standing mirror nearby while his knuckles turn white. There's only three of them, and they can't see him yet unless they walk over. If Pirates weren't on guard at every corner of the island, then they must have followed Chan and Seungmin secretly. However, with the element of a surprise attack perhaps it's doable. They can take them. But first, they need to help her.

"Yes, y—yes, I think," the woman stammers through her words, pushing up her glasses at the edge of her nose, "—I think those are just _terrible_ nicknames. Truthfully."

Seungmin's mouth drops.

Chan's tension on his knee releases, and his shoulders aren't as stiff. A suffocating thickness that was previously in the atmosphere now sizzled out into a lightweighted silence.

Huh?

... _Huh?_

Did she just—

Yellowteeth slammed his hands onto the surface, up close and personal, "Listen here, do you have any idea what will happen if you don't answer the rotten question? Choose your words carefully, grannie."

"No— But" she pinches her nostrils and squints at him, "speaking of rotten. Your breath— reeks of a foul skunk dead on the seashore!"


End file.
